Soon, a member of the Forbidden Army led more than ten villagers to the sedan chair of Zhao Junchen.
These villagers saw Zhao Junchen wearing a scarlet robe and jade belt, sitting in an eight-carriage sedan with a blue cloth and silver roof, surrounded by layers of soldiers with bright swords and armor. This was the first time they had seen such a scene.
I was immediately frightened and overwhelmed.
The Forbidden Army Hundred Household deliberately put on a shrewd and capable look, knelt down on one knee, and raised his voice to report: "Jiang Quan, a member of the Forbidden Army Hundred Household, who has a humble position, went to the village to investigate on the order of Elder Ge, and the details have been found out.
The situation, please reply to Mr. Ge!
Mr. Wangge also learned that the village here was called Hujiazhuang and had not been plundered by bandits and horse bandits. Whether it was the corpses hanging outside the village or the crying sounds coming from the village, it was actually a conflict with the Liaodong frontier army.
It’s related to acts of persecution! The fire in the village is also because the villagers lit bonfires to discuss countermeasures all night long.”
As he spoke, Jiang Quan's expression was full of excitement and enthusiasm, as if he regarded what he reported to Zhao Junchen face to face this time as the glory of his life.
This situation is not surprising, because of Zhao Junchen's deliberate arrangement, the five hundred Forbidden Army officers who followed him to the Liaodong region had all participated in the war between Shaanxi and Gansu. They were not only Zhao Junchen's old military troops, but also
Having personally experienced Zhao Junchen's illustrious military exploits, these Forbidden Army soldiers all worshiped Zhao Junchen extremely, and there were even many fanatics.
For example, this Jiang Quan was once just a small bannerman of the Forbidden Army, but he followed Zhao Junchen in Shaanxi and Gansu and participated in the Battle of Xiaochuan River, the Great Victory of Weishui River and other battles. He also witnessed "Zhao Junchen" on the battlefield of Xiaochuan River.
From then on, Zhao Junchen regarded Zhao Junchen as his idol in life, with his white horse and silver spear, and his bravery and heroic appearance. He himself was promoted to the position of Hundred Households because of his military exploits in Shaanxi and Gansu.
Zhao Junchen naturally knew Jiang Quan's experience, but now was not the time to reminisce about the past. He just asked with a serious expression: "Jiang Quan, I remember you, you are also an old member of this pavilion... What is going on? Tell me.
specific situation"
Jiang Quan's expression became even more excited when he heard Zhao Junchen refer to him as his old subordinate.
But in response to Zhao Junchen's questioning, Jiang Quan's reaction was a little hesitant. Finally, he turned to look at the villagers around him and said, "Don't you want to redress your grievances? This gentleman is Mr. Zhao Ge, the center of the imperial court.
You must have heard about Zhao Gechen's illustrious achievements in Shaanxi and Gansu. He is one of the greatest heroes in the court, Da Qingtian! Please describe the situation in Hujiazhuang to Zhao Gechen in detail, and Zhao Gechen will make his own decision next!"
Upon hearing Jiang Quan's instructions, the villagers immediately knelt down and began to cry and howl.
Obviously, they had indeed suffered great injustice. If they had not been desperate, these honest villagers would not have dared to be so presumptuous.
While the villagers were crying and howling, they all told Zhao Junchen about the situation in Hujiazhuang.
"Master Qingtian! You must make the decision for us! Otherwise we will really have no way to survive! Hujiazhuang is a group of poor people, how can they get 500 shi of food!"
"My daughter is only fourteen years old and not yet married! She was snatched away by those soldiers! You must save her!"
"It's said that we, the people of Hujiazhuang, are related to the civil unrest some time ago! It's unjust! It's unjust! We, the people of Hujiazhuang, have always been honest and responsible. How dare we participate in the civil unrest!"
"Sir, look at those hanging corpses. Among them is Lao Chan's son! Lao Chan's son! Because he couldn't help but explain a few words aloud, he was killed by the border army and his body was hung outside the village.
...Old Man's good son, Old Man's only son, has always been filial and honest, but the border troops framed him as a rebel. Not only did they kill him, but they also hanged his body in public as a warning. Now let alone the white-haired man.
He’s a black-haired man, and I don’t even dare to collect the body!”
As they were crying and redressing their grievances, anyone could see the despair and anger of the villagers. There was even an old man whose son had died who fainted because of the anger in his heart.
But the villagers' cries were too confusing. Zhao Junchen listened patiently for a long time before finally understanding the general situation.
It turned out that around 12:00 this afternoon, a group of Liaodong border troops suddenly came to Hujiazhuang, claiming that they had received intelligence and believed that the villagers of Hujiazhuang were related to a civil unrest in Liaodong some time ago, and then began to extort the villagers of Hujiazhuang.
Hujiazhuang was required to produce five hundred stones of grain and grass as "military aid" within three days to prove his innocence, otherwise all the people in Hujiazhuang would be punished for rioting.
Hujiazhuang couldn't raise five hundred shi of food, and then a few people couldn't help but argue a few words. As a result, the Liaodong border troops killed all the arguing villagers without saying a word, and even framed these villagers.
It was a mob that hung their corpses outside the village as a warning. The remaining villagers were afraid of further retaliation from the border troops and did not even dare to collect the corpses. They could only watch helplessly as the corpses of their clan members were exposed outside the village.
In the end, the border troops saw that the villagers really couldn't bring out food, so they kidnapped all the young women in Hujiazhuang, asking when the people in Hujiazhuang would hand over the food and when they would release these women home.
After the border troops left, the villagers in Hujiazhuang had no choice but to light bonfires and discuss countermeasures all night long. This is why Zhao Junchen saw the village glowing with fire and could hear cries and roars.
After hearing the tragic situation of the people in Hujiazhuang, Zhao Junchen was naturally furious!
This kind of behavior of the Liaodong frontier army is simply crazy. How can they look like the soldiers of the imperial court who protect the family and the people?
His nature is so bad that he is worse than an ordinary horse bandit!
For a moment, because of the anger in his heart, Zhao Junchen almost stood up to seek justice for the people of Hujiazhuang!
But it’s just a “near miss”!
*
During this period of time, the Liaodong military town has repeatedly submitted memorials to the court. Today it is said that civil unrest has occurred in the territory, and tomorrow it is said that the Jurchens in Jianzhou are sending troops to provoke.
, or was it a provocation from the Jianzhou Jurchens, it was most likely a fabrication of the Liaodong military town!
It was just because the Imperial Court Central Committee had always wanted to reduce the military resources consumption of Liaodong Military Town. In order to resist the decision-making of the Imperial Central Committee, Liaodong Military Town made up accidents out of thin air, so that the Imperial Court Central Committee did not dare to act rashly against Liaodong Town.
However, there is one more thing that all the princes at the center of the imperial court have ignored intentionally or unintentionally. No one is willing to think more about it, and no one is willing to bring it up.
That is, in order to cope with the investigation by the imperial court, the Liaodong military town must produce conclusive evidence to prove the authenticity of civilian riots, border conflicts and other incidents!
Therefore, whenever the Liaodong military commander mentions in the memorial "Jianzhou Jurchens send troops to provoke", a group of innocent Liaodong people may be killed by them for taking credit for their good deeds!
Therefore, every time the Liaodong Military Town said in the memorial that "there is a riot in the defense area", a group of innocent people would also be framed and punished as rioters!
A few random words in those memorials often mean the death of a large number of people!
The Gong Gong princes in the imperial court are not idiots, otherwise they would not be able to reach their current status. They are all well aware of the arrogance of the officials below, but no one dares to expose this matter!
It's like a toilet filled with feces and urine. If you don't lift the lid or stir it with a stick, and the smell isn't particularly pungent, you can keep the matter covered up and ignore the existence of the toilet, and everyone can
Pretend nothing happened.
But if you open the lid of the toilet and stir it with a stick, the smell will be overwhelming. You can no longer ignore the existence of the toilet, and the problem of the toilet must be solved.
But who will solve it? Who has the ability to solve it? And who is willing to solve it?
At least, Zhao Junchen has always been unwilling, Zhou Shangjing is equally unwilling, and Zhu Hejian is even less willing... Maybe Zhu Heyu is willing to stand up, but no one dares to let him take charge of this matter.
Therefore, all the Gonggun princes are pretending to be ignorant, and no one wants to be a troublemaker.
And Zhao Junchen has always been one of them.
But at this moment, because of Emperor Deqing's move, Zhao Junchen was forced to leave the center of the imperial court and personally came to the toilet in Liaodong Town. Even if he wanted to pretend that he couldn't smell the stench in the toilet, it was no longer possible.
*
But Zhao Junchen is indeed Zhao Junchen. Even if the smell of the toilet almost kills him, he can still hold his nose and insist that there is no smell at all.
After the initial anger in his heart, Zhao Junchen finally calmed down.
Although the situation of the people in Hujiazhuang is extremely miserable, and Zhao Junchen is indeed resentful of the heinous crimes committed by the Liaodong border troops, Zhao Junchen must "take the overall situation into consideration" at this time, and must not quarrel with Liaodong Town just because of the pity and anger in his heart
conflict!
After all, Zhao Junchen had already thought that his inspection in Liaodong this time was just a formality. No matter what happened, he should try his best to deal with it and never waste time!
It was a troubled time for the imperial court, and Fang Ru's delivery date was just around the corner. If he broke up with Liaodong Town, it would inevitably delay a lot of time, which would affect Zhao Junchen's overall considerations.
What's more, the situation in Liaodong Town is completely different from that of Shaanxi-Gansu. Before Zhao Junchen went to Shaanxi-Gansu, he had made complete preparations and was confident that he could control the overall situation. Moreover, the generals of Shaanxi-Gansu were all
Because they support their own troops and respect themselves, no one is willing to obey anyone. They often fight openly and covertly, holding each other back, so Zhao Junchen also has the opportunity to defeat each other one by one.
But this time, before Zhao Junchen came to Liaodong Town, he had no preparations, and he did not even have a plan to break up with Liaodong Town. The internal situation in Liaodong Town was much more united than that of Shaanxi and Gansu, so once Zhao Junchen was
If you fall out with Liaodong Town, there is almost no chance of winning!
The most important thing is that the generals in Liaodong Town are not only united and xenophobic, but also bold and unstoppable. The total number of supervisors and imperial envoys who have died in Liaodong for no apparent reason in the past few years is no less than ten. If Zhao Junchen and Liaodong
If there is a conflict in the town, you may die inexplicably.
Therefore, if we throw away such useless things as "justice", "conscience" and "bottom line", Zhao Junchen should not conflict with Liaodong Town for the sake of the people of Hujiazhuang, no matter what aspect he considers.
Of course, Zhao Junchen also knew in his heart that the situation in Hujiazhuang was definitely not an isolated case, but Zhao Junchen still pretended as always that he had not thought of this at all.
Finally, after the people in Hujiazhuang finally stopped crying, Zhao Junchen was silent for a moment, and then said slowly and expressionlessly: "People don't have to worry, I will definitely come forward to tell you about this matter."
Liaodong Town inquires, if what you say is true, I will definitely uphold justice for you... At least, I will clarify your crimes of chaos and help you bring back your abducted wives and daughters.
Ask for them all back!"
Zhao Junchen did not lie. After all, he was the chief minister at the center of the imperial court. Whether he was clarifying the crimes of the people of Hujiazhuang for causing chaos, or asking for their abducted wives and daughters for the people of Hujiazhuang, as long as Zhao Junchen opened his mouth, Liaodong Town would definitely be sold.
Give him a face.
But Zhao Junchen's promise only ends here. He cannot punish the Liaodong border troops who have done evil, nor can he bring justice to the Liaodong people outside Hujiazhuang, nor can he prevent the Liaodong Town border troops from committing evil again in the future. Otherwise, he and Liaodong Town's border troops will not do evil again.
Conflicts are bound to occur.
After hearing Zhao Junchen's promise, some villagers suddenly became happy, thinking that they had indeed met a great master Qingtian.
Most of these villagers had no clan members killed at the hands of the Liaodong frontier army, nor had their wives and daughters taken away by the Liaodong frontier army, so the "justice" they expected was originally just to put an end to the trouble.
But other villagers looked desperate at this time, and their eyes looking at Zhao Junchen were full of hatred, as if they saw an ugly ghost!
Most of these villagers have relatives who died at the hands of the Liaodong border troops, or whose wives and daughters were forcibly abducted. Therefore, the "justice" they expect is not just to settle the matter, but to seek revenge.
, punish the villains severely! So they also heard the perfunctory meaning in Zhao Junchen's words.
Zhao Junchen, who has always been confident and calm, did not dare to look at these low-level people at this time. After making a few promises, he immediately lowered the sedan curtain to block the eyes of the villagers, and then whispered: "Time is not up."
It's early, let's go to the village to rest...
I remember that nearby is the defense zone of Yizhou City. The person in charge of the defense is General Huang Shenming of Liaodong Town West Road. What happened in Hujiazhuang today may have something to do with Huang Shenming. After entering the village to rest for a while, we arranged
Several soldiers rushed to Yizhou City as messengers to meet Huang Shenming and explain my intentions to him, asking him to seriously consider the affairs of Hujiazhuang and never let any innocent people suffer injustice...
Also, please tell me that everyone should not harass the people after entering the village, and when borrowing rooms, they should also give the people more money as compensation..."
Zhao Junchen's tone was quite calm when he gave instructions. However, Xu Qingyan and Zhao Dali, who had been following Zhao Junchen for a long time, were keenly aware that Zhao Junchen was forcibly suppressing a certain emotion at this time, so they did not dare to neglect.
He quickly agreed.
Afterwards, under the complicated gazes of the people in Hujiazhuang, Zhao Junchen slowly entered Hujiazhuang to spend the night.
*
That night, Zhao Junchen broke his promise again. He was not in the mood to drink with Xu Qingyan and Zhao Dali to apologize, and went to bed early.
However, probably because the conditions in Hujiazhuang were too simple, even though Zhao Junchen had chosen the best house to stay in, he still had an uneasy sleep that night. He only felt that the room was filled with a pungent stench, and even he became
The smell is terrible.
In this state of sleep and wakefulness, Zhao Junchen finally managed to get to the light of day.
Then, Zhao Junchen quickly got up, dressed and freshened up, and couldn't wait to leave Hujiazhuang.
However, when Zhao Junchen called Xu Qingyan and expressed that he wanted to leave here as soon as possible, Xu Qingyan's expression was a little subtle, and he actually raised objections and said: "Master, let's leave after breakfast, and delay it for a while.
It’s out of the way.”
Not only did Xu Qingyan know Zhao Junchen very well, Zhao Junchen also knew Xu Qingyan well. After seeing Xu Qingyan's behavior, he immediately noticed something and immediately frowned and asked: "Did something happen?"
Xu Qingyan's expression became more and more embarrassed, but under Zhao Junchen's close gaze, he finally replied in a low voice: "There was something unexpected happening outside Hujiazhuang Village..."
*
After half a stick of incense, Zhao Junchen arrived outside Hujiazhuang in person.
There are several big trees at the entrance of Hujiazhuang. It was because of the six corpses hanging on the trees last night that Zhao Junchen and others noticed the abnormal situation in Hujiazhuang.
But by this morning, the number of corpses hanging on the tree had already increased to fifteen!
It turned out that late last night, nine villagers chose to come here to hang themselves!
Zhao Junchen met several of them in person last night.
There was an old father-in-law who fainted when his son died.
There was a young man whose fiancée was kidnapped by the border troops. He slapped himself repeatedly and cried and angrily criticized himself as a useless young man;
There was also an old woman who was crying and complaining to Zhao Junchen last night. Her words were confusing and illogical, which annoyed Zhao Junchen for a time. However, when she kowtowed, she made a banging sound, which also impressed Zhao Junchen.
These people all hanged themselves.
Because Zhao Junchen's "justice" was not considered justice at all in their eyes; Zhao Junchen's perfunctory attitude pushed them into the abyss of despair.
Zhao Junchen is the elder of the imperial court, a big shot that they can't even imagine. If even Zhao Junchen doesn't dare to investigate the crimes of the Liaodong frontier army, they, the lower-class people, will naturally have no chance and can only watch helplessly as those who kill their sons and seize the opportunity.
My wife's hateful border soldiers continue to do evil and show off their power.
Such a world is too scary, so they would rather die!
Perhaps, after committing suicide, they can use their lives to awaken Zhao Junchen's conscience;
No matter how bad it is, they can still use their own bodies to disgust Zhao Junchen for a moment.
If God opens his eyes, he might be able to turn into an evil ghost to take revenge.
Other than that, they have no choice.
This is the only thing they can do, and the only possibility they can hope for.
Standing under the tree with his hands behind his hands, Zhao Junchen looked at the fifteen corpses hanging densely on the tree. His expression was gloomy and he was silent for a long time.
Standing next to Zhao Junchen, Xu Qingyan suddenly recalled his unbearable experience at sea. It was the calm when the storm was brewing.
So, Xu Qingyan said cautiously: "Master, don't worry, I will have these corpses collected immediately. I will not let these corpses be an eyesore to the master, and then we can leave here immediately."
However, the storm Xu Qingyan expected did not come.
Zhao Junchen just closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
Afterwards, Zhao Junchen slowly returned to the village and said as he walked: "We are not leaving, we will stay here for this period of time! The news was spread to the outside world, saying that after I came to Hujiazhuang, I was frightened by the corpses outside Hujiazhuang, and then
She became seriously ill and couldn't move!
Then send people to nearby villages to inquire about the situation and see how many other situations are similar to those in Hujiazhuang!
Furthermore, bring all the books I prepared when I left the capital, and I will read them again... This time, I want to test my conspiracy!"
Zhao Junchen had originally decided not to conflict with Liaodong Town as much as possible, to deal with it as much as possible, to endure it as long as he could, and to return to the capital as soon as possible.
But this time, he obviously wanted to break his promise again.
Maybe I will regret it in the future, but at least not yet.